Delicate designs make great Valentine’s Day decorations

By Alison Tanner

You still have time to make these beautiful fretwork designs inspired by intricate Battenberg lace for Valentine’s Day. The fretwork hearts make perfect decorations for Valentine’s Day.

To make paper hearts, stack colored paper between two pieces of scrap plywood and attach the pattern to the top of the plywood. Cut the designs and use the paper cuttings as overlays to create custom greeting cards.

Cut the hearts from Baltic birch plywood for attractive ornaments or make beautiful suncatchers with the addition of a colored acrylic backer. To create a suncatcher, drill blade-entry holes and cut the frets. Use masking tape to attach the acrylic to the back of the blank. Then, cut around the perimeter of the pattern. Separate the stack and sand off any fuzzies. Apply your finish of choice to the fretwork. Attach the colored acrylic to the wood using cyanoacrylate (CA) glue, epoxy, or silicone adhesive.